Up Above
by GilmoreGirlAddict
Summary: If the people we love are stolen from us, the way to have them live on is to never stop loving them. Buildings burn, people die, but real love is forever.' The Crow [OneShot][Songfic]


**Up Above**

**Summary: **It was just a normal date; they were in his father's car... And then, everything went wrong. A drunk driver ran his car straight into them, their screams breaking the night's silence. But only one made it out alive.

**Disclaimer: **I don't own the Suite Life, or its characters. Disney does. So yeah. Enjoy, anyway.

**xxx**

"If the people we love are stolen from us, the way to have them live on is to never stop loving them. Buildings burn, people die, but real love is forever." -- **The Crow, 1994**

The tears poured from his eyes as he watched them take her away. Her bloody, scarred, lifeless body. Blond hair falling from the sides of the stretchers, though it seemed as if it was without the color it once had. A hand lay limp, leaning over the stretcher, the blanket not being able to cover it; it was so pale, circulation cut off from it completely. He rarely ever cried, but times were different. When being faced with the death of your girlfriend, the love of your life, what else can you do? When she's already died, and there's nothing they can do to save her from the horrible fate, what else is there to do? He found no answer to the questions; he couldn't just think, _'Bah, she's dead. I can't save her. No point in grieving.'_

No. He had loved her for years, and when she finally gave him a chance, she had to die. They had only been dating for a few months; three whole months, to be exact. And it was Christmas. A day that was supposed to be full of joy and happiness, being ripped to shreds because of her death. That made it even worse. Now, the day of the Lord's birthday, he couldn't celebrate without crying. The Lord had to take Maddie away from him on _Christmas? _Why not when he was one hundred, two seconds after his death, and when she was one hundred and three? That would've been easier for the both of them, right?

"Well," Zack whispered between his tears, his voice weak and shaky, "at least she went to Heaven..."

_Oh where, oh where, can my baby be?  
The Lord took her away from me  
She's gone to heaven, so I've got to be good  
So I can see my baby when I leave this world  
_

"But the night was supposed to be perfect," he added, before breaking into sobs once more. They had just been driving in a new car that Kurt had bought for Zack, just a silver convertible. But the damage that the car had taken meant nothing to Zack. He wanted her. He wanted Maddie. Why were people so dumb these days? Zack wasn't the smartest kid in school, but he knew better than to drink and drive... Or drink at all. But the guy that had been driving in the wrong lane sure didn't. Zack had done nothing wrong that night. Maddie had done nothing wrong that night. So it just wasn't fair that the other man got out with nothing more than a broken arm and a mild concussion, while Maddie had died. It wasn't fair that he, Zack, got out with a slight concussion, some cuts and bruises, and one broken leg, either. Maddie deserved to die a lot less than he or that drunk driver did.

_  
We were out on a date in my daddy's car  
We hadn't driven very far  
There in the road, straight ahead  
A car was stalled, the engine was dead  
_

The crash replayed in Zack's mind. At first, the date was perfect; until the headlights from an oncoming car shone in his path, blinding him. Zack had turned the steering wheel as hard as he could, hardly letting off the gas pedal. The tires screeched as they hit the road so hard. But he wasn't that lucky. The oncoming car hit in the middle, making Zack's car hit a sign on the side of the road. And on top of all that, some car that didn't see the crash hit Zack's car again. It was horrible.

The windshield had busted, sending glass everywhere. Zack covered his eyes... Some jammed themselves in his skin, making him grunt with pain. The air bags flew out, making Zack and Maddie gasp for breath as they were being pushed back. Maddie's window was smashed, some shards hitting her. "There's some in her eyes," reported the doctors, as Zack knelt there, not quite believing what happened. But she had hit her head really hard, smashing the skull, according to the doctors; and she had hit her arm on the inside of the car, under the window, really hard. Just them talking about the pain that Maddie had gone through. He could imagine himself in her sort of pain, and still never really feel her pain. And it sickened him, that some guy had done this to her. It seemed like _he, _Zack Martin, had done this to her. Had he never suggested that they go out, it never would've happened.

_  
I couldn't stop, so I swerved to the right  
I'll never forget the sound that night  
The screamin' tires, the bustin' glass  
The painful scream that I heard last  
_

Zack was never a very religious person, but he remembered as he lay in the hospital that night, that Maddie had been. So he said to his mother, "Will you get me a Bible, please?" She had looked so surprised, like she couldn't believe her eyes, her ears; but she agreed, a smile forming on her face. She had always tried to make him believe in God, but nothing had gotten to him. Not even Maddie could make him read the Bible. _'Maybe her death was the little extra push he needed,' _Carey thought. _'I just hate the sacrifices that had to be made... I hate that she died, and now what he's going to have to go through.'_

"Here you are, son," she said quietly to Zack when she returned.

"Mom?" Zack asked, looking up at his mother, who had turned to leave. He was devastated at the loss of Maddie, but the way he figured it... If he went to heaven as well, he'd still see her. ..Right?

"Yes, Zack?" Carey said, turning around to face him again.

"Can I still go to Heaven, even if I waited this long to believe in God? And will I see Maddie there? And Mom... I just can't take this."

"Shh, Zacky," Carey whispered, walking back over and tucking some hair behind his ear, as he started crying again. "Yes, the Lord will still let you in heaven, if you be good, and truly believe in him.. And yes, Maddie believed in God, Zack. You'll see her there." She paused, tears coming to her eyes as well. "As for the last thing, you have to. You may never get over it, but you have to try to move on. You can do this, Zack, and everyone's here for you. Cody's here, as is Mr. Moseby. London will be here in a little while, she was in Europe when we called her; Kurt is here as well, and Maddie's parents are on their way in."

Soon enough, everyone had been there to talk to Zack, comfort him and cry because of their loss. But when visiting hours were over, the doctors would only allow Cody, Carey, and Kurt to stay in the room with Zack. "Cody," Zack finally said, breaking the silence that had fallen between the four. Cody sat up, looking at his brother. "Will you read the Bible to me?"

_  
Oh where, oh where, can my baby be?  
The Lord took her away from me  
She's gone to heaven, so I've got to be good  
So I can see my baby when I leave this world  
_

"The Bible?" Cody asked in surprise. Kurt looked at Zack, an eyebrow raised questioningly.

"Yeah," Zack replied. "Maddie believed in this stuff, right? So she'd have gone to Heaven. I want to go there too. Please, Code?"

"Yeah, sure," Cody replied, smiling. He, like Carey, didn't like the sacrifice that was made to make Zack believe, but finally Zack wanted to believe. And that was good, really good. He opened to the first page of Genesis, speaking the words exactly as they were on the page. Of course, sometimes Zack would ask Cody to "translate," since all the 'thees' and 'thous' and whatnots confused him. And, of course, Cody would happily explain.

It was after the finished Genesis that Zack said he was tired, and Cody said that they would continue tomorrow; Zack smiled at that and agreed, shutting his eyes for a second. He was soon asleep, but having horrible dreams about the crash. Then the setting changed.

_  
When I woke up the rain was pourin' down  
There were people standing all around  
Something warm rollin' through my eyes  
But somehow i found my baby that night  
I lifted her head, she looked at me and said,  
"Hold me darling, just a little while"  
I held her close, I kissed her our last kiss  
I found the love that I knew I had missed.  
_

It was pure white, nothing around for as far as he could see; until Maddie appeared, seemingly out of nowhere. For a second, Zack questioned that, but as he saw how she wasn't dead it all changed he rushed to her, tears streaming down his face. "Why did you leave me? Are you back? Are you still alive? Please, Maddie!" he cried.

"No, Zack... This is it. I love you, Zack. Please, don't forget me," she whispered, as they embraced in a tight hug. Soon they pulled apart, and Zack placed his lips on her's, in one last farewell kiss. He didn't want to let her go, but he had no choice. And besides, they'd meet back up in heaven later, right?

"Goodbye, Zack," Maddie whispered as they pulled apart, and she took a step back.

Despite himself, Zack smiled slightly. "You say that like we'll never meet again," he whispered. "But don't worry, Maddie." She rose an eyebrow questioningly.

"I'll see you in Heaven, Maddie. I promise." One last smile appeared on her lips as she disappeared.

"I promise."  
_Well now she's gone  
and even though I hold her tight  
I lost my love, my life, that night.  
Oh where, oh where, can my baby be?  
The Lord took her away from me  
She's gone to heaven, so I've got to be good  
So I can see my baby when I leave this world_

**xxx**

**A/N: **So, what do you think? I think that I could've done better, but this is actually a new type of story for me, so yeah. Never done one that has to do with some spiritual-ness. Anyway, please R&R! (Read and review, for those of you whom do not know what that means.)


End file.
